Never been good at folding...

I am thinking about converting one room into a clean clothes free for all! It takes too much time to fold everything only to wash and fold again right away. I think I will save a lot of time if I just throw the clothes in the 'clean room' and everyone fends for themselves. LOL! Seems to be working...check it out!

PS-this is about half of last weeks! ;)

Bring on the White Linen Pants!

Yea!!! It's Memorial Day weekend! This marks the beginning of summer in my book, even though it officially starts next month. So bring on the sunshine, friends and family,baseball, lazy days, late nights, camping, barbecuing, biking, sprinklering(my new word), mojitos and white linen pants! Now...if I would just get me a pair of those gladiator sandles that I refused to buy last summer I will be good to go.

Oh, and if anyone else is looking for some gladiator sandals, I just saw some really cute Jeffery Campbell ones that they sell at my friend Megan's store, Hot Mama. Check it out!

Oh *squared*: if you check out the Founders Blog @ Hot Mama/Shop Mama and scroll down to February, you will see a little highlight on Fia and Kwame coming home. Just saw this recently and thought it was fun.

Oh *tripled* : have a great weekend! Stay safe and have fun!

Call Me Selfish, But.....

All I have to say is, "Thank you Lord!!!!" Daron and I take turns waking up with the kids so that one of us gets a full night's sleep at least every other night. Fortunately for Daron[rolling my eyes because I am just jealous], he really does get a full nights sleep when it is his turn 'off' as he never hears the kids wake up. Unfortunately for me, he never wakes up on his shift and I have to gently nudge him awake [sometimes kick! Ha! Just kidding. Maybe.] so that I don't have to get out of bed. Well, last night was my night 'on' and not one single child woke up through the night!! Woo hoo!! Even better, the younger two were dry and no accidents! I am hoping this is the beginning of a new trend. I am such a better mom when I get sleep! Can I get an Amen??

Quick Trip to Cali

Okay...so I know most of you will think we are crazy, but that is why I am posting this after the fact! ;) We just got home from a road trip that took us 16 hours on the way to Santa Cruz/San Fran area and 17 on the way home! My uncles' memorial was this weekend and we really wanted to go as a family, so we piled in the family mini van with no seats to spare (made sure to steer clear of Yosemite) got up at 4am each day and made it safely to and fro without major incident! I don't think we had a single, "are we there yet?" from any of the kids. I was in shock. They did ask the allowed, "which exit are we looking for" or "what time do you think we will get there," but that is acceptable to me since I ask the same questions! ;)

The night before we left, we were blessed by a friend (her husband is a pastor at another local church). She made us a delicious enchilada dinner and also left a care bag of snacks for our roadtrip! It was such a blessing for us since I was in over my head with getting everyone ready after the week we had previously, budgeting what was left of the food budget this week and taking care of Greta, who at the time was still in a lot of pain. I KNOW it was such a God thing since she even brought over the snacks that my kids asked me for specifically, but I said we couldn't this time. Money is tight for most right now and the fact that a peer of ours blessed us that way, well, it brought many tears to my eyes! God is good!

On the way there, we tried to plan out our stops around sleep, our favorite bio diesel gas station, and most importantly, In-N-Out! The first In-N-Out we come to in CA is in Redding and we had hoped to get there for a late lunch, but it didn't quite work out, so we ate a 'linner' there instead. As you can see from the photo, our children aren't quite used to the sun yet, but we adjusted by the time we had to come back to the rain.

After that, we headed down to the Bay area to go meet up with some of our wonderful friends, The Atkins and we FINALLY got to meet their little guy. Toby was on his way to his first ever soccer practice the next morning, and boy was he super cute in his gear, but that didn't stop these super hosts from making us all blueberry pancakes and bacon! Yum!! I am so thankful for the time(though too short) that we got to spend with them and re-connect. We were bummed that we weren't there long enough to hang out more with their great friends (and our cyber friends), the Kilgores who have adopted from the same orphanage in Ghana, but hopefully we will have time this summer-can't wait to re-meet you guys!!(last time we met there were only 2 kids between us, now there are 11+ in 7 years!)

It was then bittersweet to pull into Scott's Valley, where my Uncle Scott had worked and lived for many years at Mount Hermon Bible Camp. I knew in my head that he had already passed, but it was just so surreal to be there without him. Wow. I loved that guy and I soon came to find out just how many others loved him and felt his love as I did. I am so blessed to have had him as my uncle. I miss him so much, but I felt at peace too knowing that he was well loved and taken care of until the end.

Greta and cousin Becky ..Aunt Jan and cousins Jamie & Matt
While there, we went to Santa Cruz with the other million people on their first warm day of the season. We had fun walking the beach, checking out the sea lions, and eating ice cream on the boardwalk. It was also great to see so many relatives that I don't usually get to see. I wish I had more pics of the weekend, but I ran out of batteries and forgot to use my other dad's camera. Oh well! I did get a few though of cousins, as well as some when we went on a hike down to this beautiful little river in the woods. It felt surreal and almost scary like the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park were going to bound out at any moment! Sorry...sometimes I get a little dramatic.

All in all, despite the two LONG days in the car out of four, I was so happy to go to be there for myself and my family as we said goodbye to my uncle. I am sure there is more to tell of our roadtrip stories, but for the most part, it was pretty uneventful and I liked it that way for a change!

Norwegian Dance Show(pre-arm breakage)

We have had SOME fun around here despite all the craziness lately. Last week the girls had their end of the year performance for Norwegian Dance and they did such a great job! It is so cute to see the two of them dancing and having fun in their outfits. They aren't sure if they are doing it again next year (I think Greta will), but I hope so because otherwise I will miss this Scandihoovian fun that we have here if they don't! In another year, Fia can do it if she wants, that will be super cute too.

Ella hangin' with her Norsk homeys!
Here are two videos for the out of town grandmas and relatives. The first one is of Ella and the second one is of Greta! I love watching Ella, she is so serious when she does it-she is on a mission to Enjoy!

Greta is Home Sweet Home!

We are home and we are off to take naps.
Thanks for the balloon and flowers Grandma Mary!

And thanks for the Ugly Doll Grandma Bev!

Surgery Complete-finally!

Greta is out of surgery and now sleeping off all the anesthesia, drugs, etc. She was up for a little bit and now is back to sleep. We were planning on coming home tonight, but now it seems like she might just need some extra sleep here. She still would need to eat food, drink more, etc, etc. before they would let her go, so we won't push it and we will see (although we are sharing a room with a 9 day old baby. cute-yes. quiet-no).

The docs ended up having to make about a two inch incision to get the radius head all back in place again and now she just needs to let the fractures heal. She will be in the splint for about 10 days and we will come back to check on how it is all looking. At that time she will be told if she is good to go or needs to have a cast. Hopefully she is good to go, but the reality is most likely she will be in a cast.

Thanks for all of your prayers and good thoughts coming our way. We are so thankful for family/friends and for God's comforting hand. I really appreciate all the love Greta has received and I told her about every message, so thanks! We are so fortunate to have you all in our lives. Big time thanks to Grandma Bev for sleeping with the other four two nights in a row!

Now Lord, please let us get some sleep!

Greta Update

Well, it is now 1pm in the afternoon here this wonderful Mother's Day 2009! Luckily, I get to spend it with my oldest daughter and she has been such a trooper. So far we have still not gone to surgery, but they are hoping to get us in sometime 'soon.' Last night(or shall I say this morning-3:30am) they tried a procedure in the ER where they tried to treat her without surgery. She actually has two fractures: one in her ulna and the other in the head of her radius. The head is also completely displaced at a weird angle, so they were trying to put this growth plate back in without surgery(I think this is commonly nursemaid's elbow in the young kids-but it isn't quite as easy for the bigger ones). Well, as I said, that didn't work. At 4am, they realized no one was going to operate then, so they they admitted us into the surgery center of the hospital where we got an hour or so of sleep and are now just waiting for them to come and get her.

I know this is a more technical blog than usual(actually the hair post got quite lengthy and complicated too), but what they will do next is insert a couple of small wires/pins to try and put it back into place. If that doesn't work, they will have to make a bigger incision and use screws (i think that is what he said). She will most likely be in a splint for a week or two and then switch to a cast. Ugh! Right now she is excited about signatures, but I think that will last all of one day!! I hope this time goes fast for her. She missed out on swimming at the hotel last month b/c of her facial surgery and now she will miss the hotel pool we are headed to next month too. She is holding up well, but has ups and downs obviously. She still hasn't eaten since a Central Market cookie at 2 yesterday afternoon. She is HUNGRY!!!

Greta was luckily diverted by two of her 6 favorite Uncles Brad and Erik and Aunt Ingrid, Kaia, and Lola. They brought many smiles to her face and got her laughing with her great sense of humor returning for a little bit. My big brother and Ingriddles also took care of me by bringing me breakfast and a latte! Kaia created the cutest card and it was fun to have them all here.

BTW, Greta now has a plan of revenge on the swing....she is going to make a sign on the swing that she jumped off of that says,"Do not use, it breaks your arm!" So....if you come to the Jag house in the next couple of weeks, I am sure you will see a sign attached! The swing next to it is okay she said, so people can use that one.

I will keep you posted...

Prayers for Greta

We are on our way to the third ER tonight. Greta jumped off the swing and landed on her elbow creating a fracture near her elbow that is complicated. Anyway, they are sending us to Children's now to operate tonight most likely and we are currently waiting for the ferry. More later, but just wanted your prayers for her. She is doing great and very tough! She is amazing and happy that it is her right arm-she is a lefty!! Thanks to my mom and Tracie for making it flow smoothly this evening!

Hair and Lotion (3 months in & learning)

I figure I will have a new post in a couple of months, but because some have asked what we are doing, I will share what a regular day looks like in the hair and skin arena for the little ones. I still have a lot to learn, I know, but for right now, this is what we are doing and it is just MY opinion. I would also love to hear what products you LOVE for your child's kinky hair and as we all know, what works in ones person's hair, will not necessarily work in another since everyone has different textures. As a matter of fact, Fia has softer and looser curls in the front of her head than what she has in the back. I definitely have to use more product on the back of her head to keep it more moisturized.

So...below I will list out the skin and hair products that I have found to work for Fia and Kwame. I would love other products that those of you have found to be tried and true since right now, I just have a bunch of 'tried' and not so many that are 'true.' Here goes...
Skin: Fia and Kwame need to be lotioned twice a day if I don't want their skin to get ashy or dry(which I don't, so I do it, but man....I now realize how I have neglected the other 3 kids skincare- I think they use lotion once a year!!And that is suntan lotion-just kidding-maybe...). I have found a few products that I like that aren't too expensive and you can find at a Target, Walmart, or other drugstores.

1)Suave Cocoa Butter with Shea moisturizer- this I buy in the family size and now use it for all of us(only a couple of us get it twice a day though). I keep this in each of the bathrooms b/c I am lazy, but this seems to last all day for Fia and Kwame and isn't greasy. The only real con I could see with this, is that it could be a little thicker. Besides that, I find it a very good smelling lotion for a great price with SHEA!

2)Palmer's Shea Butter Formula-made with organic Shea-in the pump bottle- This lasts even longer through the day and if I skip it in the evening by accident, it isn't as noticeable. Not greasy at all and probably my favorite but I have only found it in a smaller 13oz. bottle as compared to the Suave in a 32 oz. I like the big ones so I don't have to go to the big chains that often since I have a spending problem and feel the need to buy all the 'deals' when I see them. I am much better off if I never set foot in the stores!

3)Palmer's Shea Butter Formula -solid- this has the Shea butter as the first ingredient, smells great, it is a little greasier, but moisturizes really well. Both of them have vitamin E as a main ingredient too.

Hair: Right now we are keeping Kwame's hair short, so I just need to make sure that I moisturize it a couple times a day. I am being a little sexist I know, but I have been using the less expensive products on him since his hair gets shaved off every month or so. I know...it probably isn't fair, but life isn't fair! So...for the cheap products(LOL) I am using in Kwame's hair:

1) Motions Hair and Scalp Daily Moisturizing Hairdressing-the product is okay. I bought the whole shampoo/conditioning system in Motions and it works well for Kwame, but it doesn't keep the curl enough for Fia so that is why I don't use it for her. I just rub this into Kwame's head and then I use a wide toothed comb to go through it.

)Motions Nourish Leave-In Conditioner-This is a good spray that I can use if his hair needs a little more moisture throughout the day or we just need a touch up. I also use this on Fia's hair before other products when wetting it and combing through. So far, I have liked this spray better than other more expensive ones.

3)Luster's PINK Original oil moisturizer -this is one that I have been recommended from many and it is definitely worth the 4 bucks that it is, and then some. It isn't amazing or anything, but it does make the hair very soft. I use this in both the kids hair when they need some more moisture or when I am braiding. It is an inexpensive way to condition and it definitely makes it softer and smells good too. This is a good one for Kwame after I have conditioned his hair in the bath (once a week).

For Fia, I have tried many more things since, as of now, I mostly choose to have her wear her hair natural. Like Kwame, I only condition her hair once or twice a week and don't even shampoo it unless it has gotten very dirty for some reason. The shampoo dries her hair out even more, so as long as I rinse and condition, we are good to go. The hair products that I have liked the most for her so far are the Curly Q's products.

Curly Q's Coconut Dream Moisturizing Conditioner- Like I said above, I use this every couple of days instead of shampoo. It smells amazing and makes the most beautiful curls in her hair. All of the Curly Q products are natural and is SO YUMMY! Before this, I didn't realize that she had the curls that she does. Sometimes for extra conditioning, I will add some more in after I have rinsed and leave it in. When she is in the bath and I have put the conditioner in the first time, I use a wide tooth comb and my fingers to go through it in the tub,rinse and then just pat dry. I don't comb through it again or it will be too poofy.

Every morning I will spray her hair with either water, the Motions leave in conditioner spray or Curly Q's Moist Curls Spray. I then comb through small sections adding one of the different moisturizers. There are three that I tend to use the most:

1)Curly Q's Milkshake: This smells amazing, first of all. It is about $14 a tub, but it is a great leave in conditioner for very dry hair. It really does hydrate well, as well as soften, Fia's hair. It also seems to relax some of the poofiness(new word?) and leave more curls. Again, this brand is natural and so it just feels good too. This one isn't very heavy and would also be good before braiding.

2) Curly Q's Custard- This one smells even better than the milkshake! ;) It is a little heavier and helps to give more curl definition. Supposedly it also helps elongate the curls, but I haven't noticed that. It is also great for strengthening the hair, but it might be a every other day for these products b/c this is also about $14 -$16, while the Motions and Pink run you only about $4. I say that, but I keep going back to them for Fia's hair since I really see a difference when I use them.

3)Carol's Daughter Hair Milk- This is much lighter than the above two and it is free of petroleum and artificial junk, as well. It is also more expensive than the drugstore brands and I hadn't really been that impressed with it and all the hype it got at first. It said it is suppose to add shine and frizz free definition. I noticed the shine, but for Fia's hair, it doesn't seem to help the frizz too much unless I use ALOT!! What I do notice it doing though is making her hair very soft and keeping the moisture when I have her hair in twists or braids. When her hair comes out of the twists after a couple of days or after a nights sleep, it is SO soft and looks very healthy-so, I am now a fan of the infamous Hair Milk.

Recap of Fia's Routine: At bedtime and some naps I now put the Hair Milk in Fia's hair(when I am not too rushed) and do about 4-5 twists in her hair, along with her satin cap. This helps me to have less work when she wakes up and keeps her hair a little more hydrated while she sleeps. Once she wakes up, I just take out the twists, spray on some water or other spray to each section and add the Curly Q Custard or Milkshake. I then add one of my favorite hair bands for her and we call it a day(or at least a couple hours)!

Until next month....when I will probably have an entirely different routine! ;)